In recent years it has become common to connect computers and other devices via a network. The network facilitates communication of information and sharing of resources. For example, networks include, but are not limited to, Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN) and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN). Conventionally networks are managed by a Network Management System (NMS), which may be provided on a server. In a typical arrangement when a network element experiences a fault it sends a ‘trap’ reporting the problem to the NMS. The NMS unpacks and processes the received traps and logs each of them as an event. The NMS analyses the events and generates alarms in respect of the events which it deems critical. The alarms are notified to the network administrator, e.g. via a display on the NMS or sending a notification to the network administrator's computer.
As networks become larger and contain an ever increasing number of network elements (computers and other devices connected to the network), the number of traps sent to the NMS increase.